


Vacation

by Indig0



Series: The Best and The Worst [4]
Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Gen, I've missed these two, Vacation, lifepartners til the end, we need some summer right now
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-15
Updated: 2019-03-15
Packaged: 2019-11-18 06:22:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,718
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18115076
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Indig0/pseuds/Indig0
Summary: "The shadows deepen, and we shift so we can watch the sunset, deep pink and gold against the purple clouds.  As the sky darkens, the embers rising from the fire contrast beautifully to the woods.  All around us, frogs and crickets sing.  An owl hoots nearby – a barred owl.  As the last sliver of sun sinks beneath the horizon, Ralph jumps up and tugs on my arm."RK and Ralph take a short vacation.





	Vacation

**Author's Note:**

> Reading the rest of the series isn't 100% necessary, I guess - Ralph and RK900 are best friends (and could be read as any relationship you like), and love each other, that's what's important to know.

“Ralph, I have accrued some time off… would you like to take a vacation?”

Ralph looks up from his writing, the idea novel enough to shake his mind from the absolute focus of RA9.

“A vacation? Where? …Ralph doesn’t want to fly on a plane. Nnnn, or a train or bus, no. Not trapped with… with all those humans, nowhere to get out.”

“No, I was thinking of the lake, perhaps. The ocean would be nice, but it would be a long trip.”

Ralph blinks, his LED cycling yellow, processing. “The lake. The big lake?”

“Yes. One of the great lakes. We could look for a park. The weather should be nice for camping.”

“Camping!” Ralph perks up thoughtfully. “Ralph has done camping in the city, Ralph can make a good shelter. In the summer, when it’s not raining, camping is good. Can – can we go somewhere with trees?”

“We’ll find somewhere full of trees and other plants. Perhaps you can identify them.” Of course I have access to a database of trees if I wanted, but Ralph enjoys sharing his knowledge, and he is far more interesting to listen to.

“Yes, Ralph can do that! Ralph will tell you everything about every plant!” He hops from one foot to the other, grinning. “When, when are we going? Ralph will start packing!”

“Not until next month. We can leave on the sixth. It’s a bit more than two weeks away. We’ll have plenty of time to pack.”

“Yes, yes! Ralph will pack.” He hurries over to look through the cabinets. “Extra clothes. Towels! To dry off from the lake, we – can we go in the lake?”

“Of course we will. Can you swim?”

“Ralph never tried to swim, but maybe! Maybe so! RK must surely be very good at swimming.”

“I have never tried either. We’ll see.”

After two weeks of packing and repacking, we set off early on Saturday morning to the northernmost tip of the southern portion of Michigan.

“It’s just like a mitten,” Ralph murmurs, looking at the map. His fingers grasp idly. “Ralph would like some warm mittens, for the cold days.”

“We can find you some. …Or perhaps knit a pair.”

He perks up. “Knit! Ralph hasn’t knitted before, but maybe Ralph could learn. You think so?”

“I do.” I search briefly, then put a hand on his wrist, sharing a brief video. Ralph frowns as he watches.

“Hmmm… yes, Ralph could maybe do that. Ralph could try.”

“You could even make a pair of Michigan mittens, if you like,” I suggest, smiling. “…Michittens, perhaps?”

He snorts and grins, and his fingers twitch. He pats my hand and then grasps it. “M-mitchittens! Ha! Very, very good!”

My coworkers are less impressed, but Ralph assures me that my attempts at humor have improved greatly. I trust his opinion.

There are signs for a bottle cap museum that catch Ralph’s eye as we get closer.

“We could stop for a look,” I suggest.

“Mmm… there may be many, many humans there,” he mutters. “They may… hm. RK wouldn’t let them hurt Ralph?”

“Never.” I rest an arm lightly around his shoulders, and he smiles faintly, rising into the contact.

“Yes, but… but they will stare and talk about Ralph and… and be mean to Ralph.”

“I won’t allow that either. And I think it’s unlikely to be crowded at this time of day.” Most likely not at any time, on any day.

“Hmm…” Ralph frowns. “Maybe… maybe we can just look, and if there are too many humans, we leave again.”

“That sounds reasonable.”

We fill up the gas tank, then head for the museum. It’s connected to an old 1950s style diner.

RK900: *If we were human, we could get milkshakes here. The strawberry one looks pretty.*

WR600: *It does, it does! Delicious, succulent!*

There are two customers, and they stay in their booth as we walk through. There is a vast array of bottlecaps, most of them adorning the walls or formed into sculptures. Ralph marvels over how small they are, and what attractive details they hold. It’s rather charming.

“Could we put bottle caps and shiny rocks and marbles and thing on the walls at home?” he asks when we get back in the car. “With… with nails, to hold them tight?”

“We could. They might look nice around the window, and at the corners and edges. I think glue may work better, though. We can look into different adhesives to try.”

“Yes, yes!” Ralph bounces in his seat gleefully. “Ralph will make it so nice to look at! Lots of green and yellow – every color!”

When we arrive at the campground, the sun is beating down and cicadas sing in every tree. We clear a spot in a shady campsite, and put up a tent.

“We can build a fire later,” I suggest.

“And throw things into it!” Ralph looks around. “There are so many sticks!”

“And throw things in it. …Carefully.”

“Yes, of course, so carefully!”

“But we still have quite a bit of daylight left… do you want to go swimming?”

Ralph lights up, and we quickly get changed and head down to the lake.

It’s a windy day, and there are a few humans on the beach, but I intentionally chose a time that was likely to be less crowded. Ralph eyes them, but goes straight for the water. He stops before he gets there, though.

“…Look, RK, look! So many little shells, all purple and blue and pink!” He scoops up a handful of the smooth bivalve shells.

“They’re beautiful, Ralph!”

Ralph sifts through them, then looks at the water, then back at the shells. He drops them again. “After we swim, they’ll certainly be here still! Even tomorrow.”

“I’m sure!” I follow him out. When the first wave washes over his feet, he jumps and laughs, splashing down into the foam.

“Is it too cold?”

“Cold, it’s cold, but Ralph still wants to swim!” He splashes in, hissing a little now and then. And he’s right, it’s cold. Later in the summer it will warm up more. It isn’t intolerable, though.

As we go deeper, the waves become larger and stronger. The power is strangely appealing. It can drown humans. It could damage or kill us as well. But it feels a bit like being… held. Rocked. Without arms, just cradled in the water’s gentle pull.

A stronger wave comes, and I barely manage to keep my footing. Ralph is not so lucky, and gets thrown forward. He comes up sputtering and thrashing a moment later, coughing water out. I catch his hand and guide him back towards shore a bit.

“Are you all right?”

He continues coughing before letting out a rough laugh. “…Ha! It… it feels… Ralph likes it! …Except for falling.” He frowns at the water and tries to kick it, then hisses when his movements are slowed. I can’t help but chuckle.

“It’s difficult to swim with the waves. Can you float? I think I would be too heavy, but you are lighter.”

“Mm… float? Not sure.” He looks around and then flops backwards, spreading his legs out and flailing a little, not trusting the water to hold him.

“Wait, wait!” I step closer to put a hand under his back. “Relax. Be still. I won’t let you sink.”

WR600: *????? ??? <3 <3* [Fear, worry, friend, trust]

“I’m going to take my hand away. If you sink, though, I will catch you.”

I withdraw my hand slowly, and slowly he sinks, so I replace it. After another couple of tries, I gently guide him back to his feet. “Perhaps not.”

Ralph laughs and splashes. “No, no, Ralph wasn’t built to float, it’s okay.” He grins sharply. “…But Ralph is still better at it than RK.”

“You’re entirely right, Ralph,” I agree, splashing back. He cackles with glee and grabs my shoulder, pulling down enough to rub a handful of water into my hair, and I bend down and grab a handful of algae to throw at him. By the time we clamber back to the shore, we’re both soaked and laughing and covered in green slime. We stop in the showers to clean up, then head back to the campsite.

In the evening sun, we gather wood. Ralph has an excellent eye for wood that will burn well, and he discards pieces that are too green. We clear a wide space in the sandy soil, and ring it with rocks. I form a neat log cabin fire, small until it gets going, then build it up higher with Ralph’s help. The sun is beginning to set.

“If we were humans, we could roast marshmallows,” I mention. “And… hot dogs are also traditional, though many things can be cooked over a fire.”

Ralph’s hand slams down on the log next to him. “Burned meat! Ralph told Kara that humans eat burned animals, she said no, but Ralph was _right!_ RK said so!”

“…Technically yes, though… I think they generally prefer specific types of meat, cooked in certain ways…”

“Ralph was right,” he insists, throwing a stick in the fire.

“In a way.”

Ralph sniffs and nods. The shadows deepen, and we shift so we can watch the sunset, deep pink and gold against the purple clouds. As the sky darkens, the embers rising from the fire contrast beautifully to the woods. All around us, frogs and crickets sing. An owl hoots nearby – a barred owl. As the last sliver of sun sinks beneath the horizon, Ralph jumps up and tugs on my arm.

“Stars, come, come see the stars! So many, there are more… out of the city, no lights to hide them! Come!”

I follow him out to the beach, and the stars are indeed more numerous than I’ve ever seen. I point out a few constellations to him, and he points out a few to me. And for a long time, we simply stand on the shore, listening to the waves and the nocturnal creatures, looking up into the vastness of space, leaning into each other to ground ourselves. Later we will return to the campsite, put out the fire, and cocoon ourselves in the warmth of the blankets in the tent. What follows tomorrow will depend entirely on how we feel.


End file.
